Tuesday, August 02, 2016

Oil Wars: The hungry people you didn't read about

There is an oil price war going on in the world, and it is partly a plan (Saudis overpumping to bankrupt Iran and to bankrupt the shale oil industry in the USA) but it is also affecting the economies of a lot of poor countries, from Iran to Russia to Venezuela to Nigeria.

(it is also helping economies that use oil, like the Philippines, where prices are low and mean the poor can cook with LPG and gas for threshers/handplows/transport is cheaper for rice growers like ourselves).

But one of the negative problems that hasn't hit the headlines yet is the recent cut backs in oil production in Saudi, resulting in a lot of foreign workers being laid off.

In what is dubbed a ‘humanitarian crisis’, there are at least 10,000 stranded Indians who work for Saudi Oger company. Latheef Thechy, an Indian social worker in Riyadh, and his friends are carrying out extensive relief work, using Whatsapp groups to coordinate food collection and follow up the cases.
Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has appealed to the 30,00,000 (3 million)-strong Indian community in Saudi to help the stranded workers.

and Interaksyon (July 2016) says many are asking for gov't help to get out

Thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who lost their jobs after mass layoffs in Saudi Arabia, appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte for their repatriation.
Due to the negligence suffered by the stranded Filipino workers, the labor attaches of Riyadh and Jeddah were relieved from their posts.

Most of the distressed OFWs have not received their wages for many months. Some had received exit visas but were unable to return to the Philippines due to lack of plane fare.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III, together with other government officials, flew into the Arab kingdom last week to assess the situation of the OFWs, most of whom are packed in a temporary shelter set up by DOLE.

this article estimates the number as 11 thousand OFW's, but notes most of them hope to stay in Saudi and get another job.

Reality check: If they come home, there are no jobs.

Duterte was elected in hopes to clean up corruption (and drugs, since they are related). If corruption is decreased, then industry will move here, and many skilled workers will return home.